April 7 – Today in Jayski’s NASCAR history

April 7, 2016

• Thursday Practice for the Duck Commander 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway is over after 85 scheduled minutes, the top-five, slowest and notes:
  #78-Truex, Jr. 192.892
  #2-Keselowski 192.162
  #22-Logano 192.143
  #3-Dillon 191.612
  #14-Vickers 191.578
  slowest: #55-Sorenson 179.253, #30-Wise 179.164.
  most laps run: #24-Elliott, 28 & #22-Logano, 24
  Qualifying is scheduled for Friday at 2:45pm/et, followed by final practice at 6:30pm/et.
  See fastest speeds, laps run, and more on the Texas Practice 1 Speeds page (pdf).(4-7-2016)
• Ford exec says “no doubt” Harvick will drive a Ford next season UPDATE: Ford Performance boss Dave Pericak did not mince words when it comes to Kevin Harvick’s status for 2017. “There is no doubt in my mind,” Pericak said. “He will be in a Ford.” Despite rumors Chevrolet would like to keep Harvick in their camp, Pericak insists the 2014 champion will drive a Ford next season. Enlisting the services of Stewart-Haas Racing is just the latest bold move made by Pericak, who took over Ford’s racing arm 16 months ago. With Chevrolet having a stranglehold over half of the Sprint Cup field Pericak acknowledged it was time to even the odds. “We’ve always said we’re here to win races,” Pericak added. “We’re not just here to have fun. We have to have more than just a couple bullets in the chamber every time you show up on the weekends. So we’re going to strengthen all the way across the board and adding a championship caliber team like Stewart-Haas is putting more bullets in the chamber.” As for the bigger picture, Pericak sees plenty of progress for the Blue Oval brigade — from rookie Ryan Blaney’s ability to get up to speed so quickly to the gains at Roush Fenway Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports.(Motorsport)(4-7-2016)
  UPDATE: Kevin Harvick strongly reiterated his intentions to remain at Stewart-Haas Racing, saying Thursday “There is nothing to it” as far as the rumors he could leave over the team’s move to Ford next season. “As far as I know, I thought I had a team extension that had two more years left on my contract,” he said.(ESPN.com)(4-7-2016)
• Harvick and Kyle Busch dominating laps led: Two drivers have combined to lead over half the 1,815 laps so far in the Sprint Cup Series. #18-Kyle Busch is tops at 486 laps led – one more than #4-Kevin Harvick. After Busch and Harvick, only three drivers have led more than 100 laps this season: #48-Jimmie Johnson has led 171, #20-Matt Kenseth 143 and #11-Denny Hamlin at 107.(Associated Press)(4-7-2016)
• Most mentioned drivers of 2016: According to Joyce Julius, a company that tracks media mentions for sport sponsors, #4-Kevin Harvick has been the most-mentioned NASCAR driver on TV this year while #18-Kyle Busch has received the most interview time
  

  Driver	Interviews	Interview Time	Mentions
  #4-Kevin Harvick	7	0:05:42	1,052
  #48-Jimmie Johnson	6	0:05:16	846
  #18-Kyle Busch	7	0:06:32	590
  #19-Carl Edwards	5	0:03:45	524
  #22-Joey Logano	4	0:02:52	507
  #11-Denny Hamlin	7	0:04:38	474
  #78-Martin Truex, Jr.	3	0:02:56	471
  #20-Matt Kenseth	3	0:01:52	408
  #88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	5	0:03:35	404
  #2-Brad Keselowski	2	0:02:48	399
  #41-Kyle Busch	2	0:01:40	356
  #24-Chase Elliott	4	0:01:58	318
  #2-Austin Dillon	6	0:04:06	205
  #21-Ryan Blaney	2	0:01:10	134
  #5-Kasey Kahne	0	0:00:00	128

  Statistics reflect all live race telecasts and replays of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season through Fontana.(Joyce Julius & Associates)(4-7-2016)

• Ty Dillon returns to the #95 at Texas: The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series switches gears this week, leaving short track racing behind in favor of the 1.5-mile tri-oval of Texas Motor Speedway. Ty Dillon will return to the #95 for his second race of the season with Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing. Dillon will pilot the #95 Nexium 24HR Chevrolet SS in his Sprint Cup debut at Texas, but is no stranger to racing at Texas. The 24-year-old has never finished outside the top-15 in his 10 Camping World Truck and XFINITY Series starts at Texas, which includes a truck win in 2013. Texas will always be a special race for CSLFR partners Bob and Sharon Leavine, who moved to the state in 1985.(Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing).(4-7-2016)
• Quicken Loans makes first appearance on #5: Texas marks the first of two races this season for Quicken Loans as the primary sponsor on the #5 Chevrolet SS. Quicken Loans will also adorn Kasey Kahne’s Chevrolet SS at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July. It will serve as a co-primary with Hendrick Automotive Group for May’s All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Kahne is a race and pole award winner at the Fort Worth, Texas, track. He led 63 laps and swept the April 2006 weekend with a pole and a win in only his fourth start at the mile-and-a-half track. Kahne started from the fourth position and took the checkered flag in eighth in last year’s Texas spring race.(Hendrick Motorsports), see an image of the car on the #5 team paint schemes page.(4-7-2016)
• CMT showing 3-Night Special on NASCAR: Each week millions of NASCAR fans – a massive television and digital audience – tune in to watch NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events and CMT announced an unprecedented six hour, three night special event dedicated to the fearless men who took stock car racing out of the backwoods and into the national spotlight with NASCAR: The Rise of American Speed premiering Sunday May 8, May 15 and May 22 at 10:00pm et/pt. From Stephen David Entertainment, the Emmy Award-winning company behind the miniseries “The Men Who Built America,” “Gold Fever” and “The World Wars,” the special event is not only a unique look into NASCAR’s legendary beginnings, but in the spirit of racing, it is a no-holds-barred account of the sport’s early pioneers and ascention to national prominence. The film features archival footage, reenactments and interviews with NASCAR personalities and experts including Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Richard Petty, Tony Stewart and Darrell Waltrip.
  It’s the story about how a generation of Southern bootleggers and gangsters pursued their version of the American dream and created an industry that defined them. Despite a destitute South, they became wildly rich, while in the process forming the nation’s greatest racing league through their persistence, sweat and moonshine. The success of NASCAR surpassed even their wildest dreams and inspired a new generation of Southern icons. But in the race to always go bigger and faster, sometimes there were casualties along the way. “NASCAR: The Rise of American Speed” is a tale of fearless men who didn’t just live their lives, they raced them to the finish. To see a sneak peek of “NASCAR: The Rise of American Speed,” click on the trailer here.(CMT)(4-7-2016)
• Texas Driver Notes & Facts:
  � Jeff Gordon is the only driver to have made all 30 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway. Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads all active drivers with 27 Texas starts.
  � Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Texas Motor Speedway with an 8.400. Johnson is the only active driver with an average starting position at Texas inside the top 10.
  � Six drivers have made their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career start at Texas Motor Speedway: Adam Petty (2000), Jay Sauter (2002), Brad Keselowski (2008), Trevor Bayne (2010), David Starr (2011) and Parker Kligerman (2013).
  � David Ragan (4/09/2011) and Martin Truex Jr. (11/04/2007) posted their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light poles at Texas Motor Speedway.
  � 18 different drivers have won at Texas Motor Speedway, led by Jimmie Johnson with six victories; including five of the last seven races.
  � Seven drivers have multiple wins at Texas Motor Speedway: Jimmie Johnson (six), Carl Edwards (three), Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart each have two.
  � One NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver has won at Texas Motor Speedway in two different manufacturers: Jeff Burton (1997 – Ford; 2007 – Chevrolet)
  � Jeff Burton (4/06/1997) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (4/02/2000) won their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career race at Texas Motor Speedway.
  � 11 of the 12 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers who have won at Texas Motor Speedway participated in at least two or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won at Texas in his first appearance; Carl Edwards and Ryan Newman won in their second appearance at TMS.
  � Only two of the 12 winning drivers have made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Texas Motor Speedway: Kyle Busch (15) and Kurt Busch (13).
  � Kevin Harvick leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway without visiting Victory Lane at 26.
  � Jimmie Johnson leads the series in runner-up finishes at Texas Motor Speedway with five; followed by Matt Kenseth with four and Jeff Gordon with three.
  � Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson lead the series in top-five finishes at Texas Motor Speedway with 13 each; followed by Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch with nine each.
  � Jimmie Johnson leads the series in top-10 finishes at Texas Motor Speedway with 19; followed by Matt Kenseth (17) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (16).
  � Two active drivers have a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series average finish inside the top 10 at Texas: Jimmie Johnson (8.440) and Matt Kenseth (9.462).
  � Casey Mears has participated in the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Texas Motor Speedway without posting a DNF (23).
  � Jimmie Johnson leads the series in laps led at Texas with 1,017 laps led in 24 starts.
  � Jimmie Johnson leads all active NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers in laps led at Texas Motor Speedway with 1,023 laps.
  � Two female drivers have made NSCS starts at Texas Motor Speedway: Shawna Robinson and Danica Patrick
  (NASCAR)
• Erik Jones fastest in XFINITY happy hour: #20-Erik Jones was quickest during happy hour for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 with a speed of 183.830mph. He was followed by: #18-Kyle Busch, #42-Ky;e Larson, #3-Ty Dillon, #19-Daniel Suarez, #33-Brandon Jones, #22-Brad Keselowski, #48-Brennan Poole, #01-Ryan Preece, and #2-Austin Dillon. 39 drivers participated in the session.
  See complete results on the Texas practice 2 speeds page (pdf).(4-7-2016)
• Erik Jones fastest in first XFINITY practice: #20-Erik Jones was fastest during opening practice at Texas Motor Speedway with a speed of 186.968mph.#3-Ty Dillon was second, followed by: #33-Brandon Jones, #19-Daniel Suarez, #48-Brennan Poole, #43-Jeb Burton, #2-Austin Dillon, #39-Ryan Sieg, #18-Kyle Busch, and #98-Aric Almirola. 36 drivers practiced during the session.
  See complete results on the Texas practice 1 speeds page (pdf).(4-7-2016)
• Final season for Brendan Gaughan? UPDATE: It is Tuesday of NASCAR Week, high noon, the Coronado Cafe at South Point. Michael Gaughan, who owns the joint, is about to break bread with his board of directors, which is what he calls the men who serve as his department heads and confidants. The topic switches to auto racing. Michael Gaughan is asked if he is proud of what Brendan Gaughan, his youngest son who has turned 40, has accomplished on the racetrack. He nods his head. His way of saying, yes, he is very proud. Then he says this season probably is going to be it for Brendan. What?
  Yes, this is probably going to be Brendan Gaughan’s last season driving the black and yellow gold #62 South Point Chevy in the Xfinity Series for Richard Childress. Last season was to have been it, his old man said. But Childress talked him into letting Brendan make another season of left-hand turns – Childress’ racing grandsons, Austin Dillon and Ty Dillon, really like having Brendan around, Michael said.
  The next day, Brendan Gaughan will say that he and his old man have yet to sit down and talk about this being it. But if his old man decides not to write the check, then yes, that will be it, because it’s difficult to be competitive in NASCAR without a good sponsor, no matter how heavy one’s foot is. In chatting with Brendan Gaughan, one laughs a lot. For a kid of means, he doesn’t have a spoiled bone in his body. Instead of pretension, you get self-deprecating humor. You get the impression he’d like to drive Richard Childress’ car and hang out with the Dillon boys for at least one more season after this one. Or two.(Las Vegas Review-Journal)(3-4-2016)
  UPDATE: Brendan Gaughan is aware of the talk that he might retire after the 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series season. He even has that conversation every year. “Every year, I almost retire,” Gaughan said at Texas Motor Speedway. “When I closed my team down in 2007 and the way it closed down was personally pretty difficult. I never thought I’d race again from there in NASCAR. We’ve been talking about that for years. What happens is, my father some days is — I think best way I can put it is what my grandfather used to say — trying to tell my father a secret is like telling the Las Vegas Sun. He likes to talk when he gets around reporters.” Gaughan was referring to a story that ran in the Las Vegas Review-Journal last month during the NASCAR Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series weekend indicating that 2016 would be it for Gaughan. And while he considers it each year, he’s not ready to call it a career just yet. “Every year he (his dad) and I talk about retirement,” Gaughan said. “Every year I talk about it, he talks about it, one of us does, one of us doesn’t. We always are saying it and discussing it. But it’s always been the same strategy in my eyes. If I can’t win races, I don’t want to be here. … As long as I can keep winning races and being up front and if we can make this Chase and keep competing for wins and championships, I think we will stay around as long as I can keep going.”(NASCAR.com)(4-7-2016)
• Gaulding to run limited XFINITY Series schedule UPDATE: Though former Camping World Truck Series driver Gray Gaulding has not made a NASCAR-sanctioned start so far in 2016 there’s plenty to be excited for in terms of his future career. Gaulding will announce his plans to run select XFINITY Series races this season “next week,” saying he is excited to finally make the decision public. “[I’m] really looking forward to it,” Gaulding told Frontstretch Friday at Martinsville. “I have some good tracks I’m going to go to and be able to run that I’ve ran before. I’m looking forward to announcing my team.” A native of Virginia, Gaulding is a winner in the K&N; Pro Series West Series and has 13 CWTS starts to his record, earning a best of fourth at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in 2014. Making 38 starts in the K&N; Pro Series East from 2013 to ’15, Gaulding had three runner-up results.(Frontstretch)(4-2-2016)
  UPDATE: Roush Fenway Racing has announced the addition of Gray Gaulding to its developmental program. Gaulding, who hails from Colonial Heights, Va., will make his NASCAR XFINITY Series debut behind the wheel of the famed #60 Ford Mustang in the August 19th race at Bristol Motor Speedway. He is also slated to run the NXS race in September at his ‘home’ track of Richmond. The 18-year old Gaulding has made 13 starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, including a fourth-place finish at Bowmanville in 2014. He has made 38 starts in the NASCAR K&N; East Series, including four starts at Bristol where he earned a pair of top-10s and posted a runner-up finish in 2014. He also has five starts in the K&N; West Series, including a win at Phoenix in 2013.(Roush Feway Racing)(4-7-2016)
• McClure and Martin expanding K&N; team: Plans for a new era of motorsports in Southwest Virginia were unveiled Wednesday in a familiar setting. With pioneer NASCAR team car and Food Country USA owner Charlie Henderson in attendance, Xfinity Series drivers Eric McClure and Hal Martin announced details on their expanded NASCAR K&N; Pro Series East program. Last July, McClure and Martin first announced their intentions to field a single-car car Martin-McClure Racing operation for developmental drivers in the K&N; Series. Chad Finchum, a popular Late Model racer from Knoxville, Tennessee, was hired as the first driver. Step two was Wednesday’s press conference at the headquarters of the Henderson Motorsports NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. The sprawling building was once located next door to the headquarters of the Morgan-McClure Motorsports NASCAR Sprint Cup team, which won the Daytona 500 three times. The Martin-McClure team will be featured in a big away in the April 16 PittLite 125 K&N; Series event at Bristol Motor Speedway. Finchum will drive the #39 MMR Reynolds Wrap Toyota Camry while Abingdon’s Caleb Holman will drive the #75 Food Country USA. Holman, a former Xfinity Series driver who currently competes in the truck series for the Henderson team, will be making his debut in the K&N; series which has produced several drivers currently competing in the top levels of NASCAR. Finchum is also scheduled to compete in the K&N; events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (July 16), Iowa Speedway (July 29) and Dover International Speedway on Sept. 30. Finchum has earned dozens of wins in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, including the season-opening event at Kingsport Speedway on March 26.(Bristol Herald Courier)(4-7-2016)
• Regan Smith returning to JR Motorsports UPDATE: Regan Smith will drive the #88 Chevy for JR Motorsports in the fall race at Bristol. His sponsor will be Dale’s Pale Ale. See an image of the car on the #88 team paint schemes page.(3-9-2016)
  UPDATE: JR Motorsports and Dale’s Pale Ale, the first craft beer to be featured in a can, have announced a multi-year extension that will see the brand sponsor JRM’s #88 Chevrolet in three NASCAR Xfinity Series races in 2016-17. The #88 Dale’s Pale Ale Chevrolet will make its season debut on Aug. 19 at Bristol Motor Speedway with Regan Smith returning to JRM to drive in the event. A JRM partner since 2015, the remaining two races and driving duties for Dale’s Pale Ale in 2017 will be announced at a later date. Additionally, the brand will receive associate placement on the #1 Chevrolet with driver Elliott Sadler for the 2016 season.((JR Motorsports)(4-7-2016)
• Peyton Manning named Bristol race official: Tennessee’s proverbial hometown football hero, Peyton Manning, has been named Honorary Race Official of the Food City 500, April 17, at Bristol Motor Speedway. This will be Manning’s first NASCAR experience courtesy of Nationwide. As an Honorary Race Official, the legendary quarterback will accompany fellow Nationwide spokesman, Dale Earnhardt Jr. during BMS’s wildly popular driver introductions and experience the World’s Fastest Half Mile in the Food City 500 from Earnhardt’s pit box. In the NFL, Manning is the first and only quarterback to achieve 200 career wins, and his five NFL MVP awards are also a league record. He was the most valuable player of Super Bowl XLI, named to a record 14 Pro Bowls and has 14 4,000-yard passing seasons (NFL record) and is the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards (71,940) and touchdown passes (539). “I’m thrilled to get a chance to watch Dale compete at Bristol Motor Speedway,” said Peyton Manning. “I want to thank Nationwide for bringing me to one of the great NASCAR tracks to watch what I’m sure will be an exciting race in front of some of the most passionate fans in the sport.”(BMS)(4-7-2016)
• Racing at Rockingham in doubt again: Plans to bring racing back to Rockingham Speedway have hit a wall. James Martin, of Level 1 Motorsports in Union County, announced on Facebook Monday night that the inaugural season for the X-Cup Series “is at least temporarily on hold.” An open test was planned for this coming Sunday so drivers could get their cars on the track to prepare for the opening race on April 23 – the first scheduled at the storied speedway in three years. Martin said he learned speedway co-owner Bill Silas – who holds the lien on the property and is a partner with Andy Hillenburg in Rockingham Raceway Park LLC, which owns the track – terminated the lease Vets-Help.org had signed with Hillenburg. “I was kind of as blown away as anybody else,” he said. Martin then called the drivers to tell them the news. “I did what I felt was best.” However, Craig Northacker says the lease is still valid and a purchase agreement is in negotiation. “As far as I’m concerned, we’re still on track to do what we’re going to do,” said Northacker, executive director of Vets-Help. Despite the caution flags, Jim Blankenbaker [vice president of operations and development for Vets-Help] said he and Curt Trent – who was vice president of motorsports and automotive programs – are still trying to move forward and there are “conversations going on trying to salvage something in 2016,” which could possibly include the X-Cup Series. “If there’s a way to do something, we’re doing it,” he said. “There’s too much synergy not to be able to pull something off.” Records with the Richmond County tax office show a payment of $11,350.61 – $9,324.91 for taxes plus $1,965.70 in interest and a $60 lien cost – was made March 21. Another payment of $47,189 was made Tuesday, zeroing out the speedway tax bill.(Richmond County Daily Journal)(4-7-2016)

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